Grand Chase: The Chase Begins
by HeinaScHase
Summary: A grand chase fanfiction, written in light novel form. Part 1 retells the past of the four main characters: Lass, Elesis, Lire, and Arme, and part 2 tells the story of the warriors of light fighting the dark.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Your memories shall be shown, young warriors.

They shall give the world a new feeling of despair.

They hold pain.

And they hold darkness.

You shall witness the world that you tried to save being polluted dark by your own memories.

You will pray, but with no avail.

Watch, and be helpless.

As the earth feel your memories by heart, experiencing them…..

**Disclaimer: I do not own Grand Chase, nor do i own the characters from it. I only own the made-up characters that are not mentioned on the official Grand Chase site.**


	2. Chapter 1, Part 1

**Chp.1. - Lass**

In Blackcrosstown, the kingdom of Kanavan, the houses were being torn and burnt, and mountains of corpses of humans were being devoured and absorbed by the dark Anmons and several other beings.

"Hah….?" His body covered in countless gashes and scratches, Lass slowly raised up his gaze from the crimson-covered ground and looked upwards to the Dark Lady, Kaze'aze.

"I said, I will let you have revenge, Lass." The Dark Lady repeated herself patiently, however still greatly irritated that the boy did not believe her – not yet.

"I will let you taste sweet vengeance…… I will lead you to the imbeciles that tortured and killed your family years ago."

With an obvious effort, Lass managed to picked himself up from the ground. He coughed up some blood several times, and looked at Kaze'aze. Lass' pair of piercing eyes were filled with rage, and the emotion made his eyes look dull red.

"How do you even know my name? How the hell did you know my family was killed?"

The boy's questions struck the evil Queen as incredibly comedic. Smiling inside her mind, she was about to chuckle, but then she realized that doing so would be a grave mistake. _The boy has no knowledge of the strange ways of the world_, she reasoned with herself. _It would not be wise to laugh at him now and give him the impression that I am a liar and an imposter._

With an effort, Kaze'aze managed to hide her smile, and continued in her usual rigid, cold-hearted manner.

"I am no monster, boy, and I am merely offering you a chance of your lifetime."

"I've seen what you've done to those people! Not all the humans were having honest lives, but some of them still led their lives with happiness!"

Overcome by rage yet again, the silver-haired boy threw a pair of shurikens at the dark Queen. The Dark Lady did not even move , yet the shurikens were tossed aside by an invisible force of energy. Coughing out blood, Lass rested his back against the stone wall behind him.

"I already know the truth of what happened, imposter. The village was attacked by a group of rogue Gorgons. My mother and my sister were simply in the middle of it!"

Then Kaze'aze realized the significance of what the boy was saying. The boy did not know anything. He had no knowledge whatsoever of what horrible creatures humans were. He still believed in them. 

"Of course, they were not telling the truth."

Kaze'aze replied bitterly.

Lass opened his mouth to object, but the Dark Lady cut him short.

"I have the whole incident, recorded, right here in my memories."

Pointing at her head, Kaze'aze smiled. It was not a heartily smile, but rather what-did-i-tell-you-you-idiot-boy smile.

Obviously surprised, Lass' mouth hanged open. However, he quickly recovered after realizing that there wasn't a way to prove it – not in any way he knew of.

"How do I know that you saw it? I can't see through your memory!"

"Oh, but you can."

Her unexpected reply caught Lass off guard. His injuries suddenly got the better of him yet again. He coughed up even more blood, and felt the need of support even when laying his back down on a stone wall.

"I will simply project my memories to this magic orb – as you know, magic orbs never lie, never – so that you will be able to see it."

The dark Queen took out her orb, smiling to herself. The boy did not realize the she knew everything. Everything related to darkness of heart, anyways.

"Witness, boy, what happened to your lovely mother and sister on that fateful day."

Kaze'aze's hand lightly touched the orb, and rays of light started coming out of it. Lass felt himself falling, even though he was on a flat surface, and the heat he felt forced his consciousness to fade away slowly.

* * *

_Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!_

Startled by the sudden noise, Lass awoke. Surprisingly, the village where he and Kaze'aze were at was gone, and the scenery had changed. He was in yet another village, but the houses looked older, smaller.

"Where is this…..?"

His injuries seemed to have been healed. He moved around his legs, testing them.

"ah….."

Then it hit him. He was inside the Dark Lady's orb, her memories. Inside the truth of what happened to his mother and sister….. Where were they, anyways?

Then he noticed the mob of people who were shouting out "kill" repeatedly. They were surrounding a house, a house that Lass recognized very clearly….. It was the very house that Lass had lived of in his younger years.

"Wha….. What the heck are you people do-"

His sentence was cut off half-way as three men came out of the house, shouting out some angry words. However, they were not coming out alone. They were dragging two figures – one small, one bigger – along with them. There they were, being dragged by those men- they were Lass' mother and sister.

"Please, show mercy!"

Lass' mother was crying, on her knees and begging for mercy. Drops of tears trickled down her cheeks. One of the men kicked her full in the stomach.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

The angry Lass bellowed on top of his lungs. He ran over to the man, and kicked his face as hard as he could. Of course, his kick just went through the man like he was a ghost.

The next event happened all too quickly. A man with a golden necklace on his neck grabbed the little girl – Lass' sister – and stabbed her with a small dagger.

"NO!"

Lass waved his hands at his sister, desperately trying to grab her. Blood was everywhere. The little girl did not even have time to scream. She still gagging and coughing out blood when the man kicked her hard, sending her flying.

The man was laughing hysterically, resembling a maniac.

"Die, Half-Demons! You don't deserve to live!"

Throwing the little girl's body aside, the man now approached Lass' mother. Lass' mother, who tried to get to her daughter, was kicked back by several men. Tears were flowing down the woman's cheeks, and Lass' cheeks were already full of them.

"NO! NO! NO! WHAT DID WE EVER DO TO YOU?"

Lass' mother shouted the words before Lass could get them out of his mouth. Perhaps it was better – as they couldn't see or hear anything Lass did there – or perhaps it was not.

"Your sin is your existence! You are accursed creatures!"

Grinning, the man raised his spear and slashed at the poor woman kneeling on the floor. Blood was everywhere, and all the blood was from Lass' lost family.

Lass tried to hit the man again, though knowing that it was futile. Even as he was punching, the man raised his spear, and struck, this time with full force. Lass saw his mother getting pierced by the pointed top. His mother's blood trickled down to the floor. Lass' mother was motionless for a few seconds, then collapsed.

"No…..No……No…..No….."

Lass muttered "no" frequently as if the words would magically bring his mother back , and maybe somewhere in the back of his mind, he was hoping that they would.

"The Demons are dead!"

The man with the golden necklace shouted out loud to the crowd. Lass looked upward slowly to the man. He swore to himself that he would remember the man's face. He was grinning, the man. The man was enjoying it, enjoying killing helpless people. Lass was just about to see the man's clearly when he suddenly felt a rush of heat inside him. The same kind when he fall into this accursed piece of memory.

"Gahhhh……."

He felt it getting hotter inside of him, stronger. He felt immense pain – and was surrounded by a ray of light yet again. However, it was not the kind of light that made him experience the Dark Lady's memories. It was fiery and painful even after Lass closed his eyelids. He felt exactly the opposite of when he first resonated with the orb's power. This time, he was getting sucked in. His body was trying to go forward, but Lass did not let it do so until he caught a closer glance of the man's necklace.

It was a simple decoration, a golden horse in the middle of a circular ring, filled with diamonds.

With his last ounce of strength left, Lass shouted while crying.

"YOU SHALL PAY!"

* * *

This time, Lass did not pass out when he came back, tears still coming out of his eyes.

"So, how was it? Do you realize how horrible the minds of humans are?"

"They kill helpless and poor creatures like your mother and sister, just for the reason that there was a bit of demon blood in your family. Then they run and beg for their lives when stronger, bigger creatures chase them for what they did, and then backstab them when they're spared from their well-deserved punishment! They make wars, fighting for each other's lands! They are creatures that cannot improve. Their kind must be annihilated. Even the earth hates them. They use Gaia's gifts to the world as they see fit, and they sacrifice the gifts for their comfort. They must be annihilated, crushed, for what they are. They cannot make peace with the world!"

Lass' eyes were bloody blue again – but this time with a hint of darkness. He started laughing like a madman while tears trickled down his face.

"I see, I see now!"

Darkness slowly consumed his eyes –

"I see!"

His eyes grew even colder, bloodier-

"Monsters! They are truly monsters!"

And all his feelings for humanity disappeared.

He was still laughing his empty laughs when he abruptly kneeled in front of the Dark Lady.

"I will serve you, my lady. You have shown me the truth of the world."

Kaze'aze smiled at Lass. This time a hint of warmness- rather, a hi**n**t of satisfaction – could be felt.

"And your help shall be greatly rewarded."


	3. Chapter 2, Part 1

**Ch.2. Elesis**

Three years ago, Elesis was just another insignificant kid in the Bermesiah kingdom. However, she was not the same as ordinary child. She was the only daughter of Siegfried, the Royal Guard Master of the Bermesiah kingdom. As the daughter of one of such position, Elesis had to train every day, keeping up with her father's expectations.

When the war approached, she did not think that it would be anything special. She thought that it would be just like every other small battles her father has taken part in the past, and survived. She believed in her father so much that she paid no attention to what people were saying: that the Dark Lady will be taking part in the next battle.

Near the date of the declared battle, Elesis has asked her father who the Dark Lady was.

Her father's face stiffened at that moment, and answered Elesis' question with a question.

"Where did you hear that name?"

Elesis answered instantly, as it was one of the things she was trained for, and also regretted doing so instantly. Elesis knew that her father hated people who listened to mere gossip. Siegfried's face instantly turned into that of silent rage.

"From the people, father."

"If you have time to listen to gossip, why don't you use that time for training?"

Ashamed, Elesis returned to polishing her skills with the sword.

Elesis was so embarrassed of herself at that moment that she did not even realize that her father avoided her question. However, she went on and found the answer for herself quiet unintentionally: The Dark Lady was a monster named Kaze'aze, who had great power and great knowledge.

Even then, she had too much trust in her father.

Her father told Elesis that she would be taking part in this war. Of course, she would not actually be in the main battlefield, but supporting the lesser soldiers. Nevertheless, Elesis was excited and in high spirits.

If only she had known what would happen in the battle, perhaps she would not have been so eager for the battle to begin…..

* * *

"Father!"

Elesis shouted, slashing at a savage Anmon as she approached the main battlefield, afraid for her father.

"Father, where are you?"

Blood was everywhere, mixed with the gray Gargoyle poison that massacred warriors ruthlessly. Wrinkling her nose in distaste, the red-haired girl shouted out her father's name again.

"Siegfried! Answer!"

And yet there was no response, only the angry howling of the dark Anmons rewarding her. The dark lady, Kaze'aze, did this to the normally peaceful Anmons. Yes, Kaze'aze, the bringer of this great war. Elesis loathed the evil queen for making this useless war take its place.

_This is all her fault. _Elesis thought, _She did this to the world – Did this to me!_

Tears flowed down from her fiery eyes. However, they were not shed of sadness ; rather, they were of anger, hatred and the sympathy for the soldiers who died in the meaningless war. Wiping her face, Elesis turned around and resumed her search for her father. It was not long before she heard a scream - a scream from a voice that sounded like her father. Turning around quickly, she ran towards where the scream came from.

Then she saw it.

A silver- haired boy, about Elesis' own age, stood over Siegfried's lifeless body. There was a dark dagger on Siegfried's chest, pierced deep down. It took a moment for Elesis to completely register the scene: her father was dead. The truth came to her mind: the invincible Siegfried, defeated by a mere teenager. Elesis did not yell and charge at the boy, nor did she run away.

She simply collapsed on the spot, completely paralyzed.

It was, she realized, the first time that she had experienced true fear.

The boy slowly approached her, taking the time in the world. It was as if he knew that the red-haired girl could not run away, could not even move a millimeter.

_I'm scared. _Elesis thought,_ I'm scared and he's the one who is scaring me so._

The silver-haired boy knelt down in front of her, and slowly let his breath out.

"Hah….."

His breath, Elesis noticed, was sweet. However, it had hints of bitterness within, making the boy's breath less amiable than it would have been.

"How did I miss you….?"

Grabbing the tearful girl's hair, the boy raised her face towards him, studying her face.

"Fa…..ther….."

She groaned the words as if they were thorns. The white-haired boy raised his left eyebrow.

"hmm?"

Even more tears came out of the sun-like eyes, making the girl's face look even more pitiful.

"You….. Killed my…..my father….."

The boy did not care – as it was, he had no idea who her father was. He had killed too many, too much to remember a red-haired girl's father. As he watched the girl silently sobbing, a sense of disgust formed inside him.

_Fragile creatures. Is despair and sadness all they feel after witnessing a parent's death?_

An idea suddenly hit him. 

_This girl shall be my experiment, _he thought. _I will have her seeking revenge, and see what will happen._

"Your father was very weak, so to speak. Was he even a knight?"

Even more tears welled out of the girl's eyes.

_Annoying creatures, they don't stop getting emotional once they start._

"He died trying to save your people….."

The boy smirked, and whispered his very next words into her left ear.

"…..But I chased them down, and killed them all."

The boy sent a heavy kick to the girl's side, knocking her down.

"In other words, he died a meaningless death."

He sent several more rough kicks to the girl, who was now wincing in pain, her consciousness slowly fading from the her body.

Leaning close over her, he whispered into the girl's ears yet again.

"My name is Lass, girl. Avenge your father if you can."

With that, he turned away and left, leaving the girl alone in the blood- soaked battlefield.


	4. Chapter 3, Part 1

**Ch.3. Lire**

Elven Forest, the dwelling place of elves, could not be called by its name anymore. It was destroyed, by both physical and magical attacks. Of course, the one behind it was the Dark Lady, Kaze'aze.

Lire had seen the Dark Lady only once before. The black queen could be called beautiful, but in a terrible kind of way. To a human, the beautiful side might not even have been seen.

Four years ago, Kaze'aze visited the forest for conference. She wanted the elves on her side, planning a war against the humans. The elves were the creatures of wisdom, she said. They must know that the humans were disgusting, even cruel, creatures.

The elves did not agree. They claimed that humans were creatures of improvement, and that they should be given a chance. In reverse, they tried to persuade the Black Queen into helping the humans see the light.

Lire had also been there, as she was the daughter of the chieftain of the Eruyell tribe. In other words, she was a princess. However, she was not actually inside the conference building. She was outside, practicing her skills with the bow. After what seemed like an hour of lone practice, she heard some footsteps. The footsteps were not from anyone she knew, but from a silver-haired boy, who wore light-blue clothing. While approaching Lire, he through a small black kunai knife– not at the blonde elf girl, but at the target the girl was trying to hit for a few minutes – and it pierced the middle of the target.

Surprised, the blonde elf girl stared at the punctured target for a few seconds, and smiled at the unfamiliar boy. The boy did not smile back. Feeling awkward, the elfin girl quickly turned around, and continued her training.

"We are leaving, Lass. It seems they do not share our beliefs."

The cold voice that came out of nowhere surprised her, and forced Lire to turn back with curiosity. That was the moment when she first saw the black Queen.

"Yes, my lady."

The silver-haired boy called Lass stared at Lire for a few more seconds, and walked away.

Noticing the elf girl for the first time, the black Queen studied Lire for a few seconds.

Lire could not do anything but stand still. When she tried to move, she found that her body was quiet paralyzed. The Dark Lady's cold eyes froze the young elf girl. In effect, the girl could not do anything but stare back at the Queen.

After a few moments of the continued silence, the queen took her gaze off of Lire, and grinned lightly at her.

"I am sure we will meet again someday, young warrior."

Her statement surprised Lire. They had never seen each other before. After the queen left, Lire stood gasping for breaths for a few seconds, and started running toward where Kaze'aze has gone.

"Wa…..Wait!"

Lire shouted out, but it was too late. The queen and the silver-haired boy named Lass had already disappeared. All Lire could do was stare at the direction they went, and shrug.

For three years after the visiting of the Dark Queen, the elves of Elven Forest lived in continuing peace.

But that was only until they were invaded by Kaze'aze.

Lire now stood over a pile of ash that was once the Guardian Tree of the forest. With shining tears trickling down her face, she muttered few words.

"Why…?"

She wiped her eyes.

"Why did it have to be like this?"

The war between the elves and the monsters was still going on. Of course, the elves were of a much higher level in terms of abilities, but the monsters – the monsters had no limit in numbers. They just kept on coming, no matter how many the elves killed. Eventually, the elves tired out and fell one by one.

"Damned monsters….."

Lire's yellow eyes blazed with anger. It was Kaze'aze, the monster, who had caused all this.

Behind her, a large Orc roared, and approached Lire at lightning fast speed, snapping its jaw at her. However, Lire did not even look back, as she punctured a hole in the monster's head with an arrow.

Then, she too, started shooting with the others at the monsters. One arrow was enough for each monster for the young warrior. She was slaying enough of the monsters to make a pool of blood. Before she knew it, she was covered in a mixture of blood and sweat. When the wave of the monsters seemed to decrease, she looked around to see how many of the elf warriors had fallen, and was shocked to see that only thirteen, including her, remained.

"Run!"

Lire's father, the chieftain, shouted at the survivors. However, the survivors did not budge, and shook their heads. One of them, Vizale, a male elf warrior, voiced the opinions of the survivors.

"We will fight with you, honorable one, and die fighting with you."

"What of my daughter, then? Who will keep her safe?"

Lire was shocked that she was hearing this from her father, and tried to protest.

"Father, no! I too wish to fig-"

She was cut off in mid-sentence by a loud roar. The huge roar filled the forest, one so fear-inciting that the remaining elves had to cover their ears.

From the gorge, a terrifying red dragon emerged from the abyss. Behold, it was Red Gorgos, the legendary cursed creature said to have the power to destroy a town in mere seconds.

The elves were too shocked to do anything. What was a legendary creature doing at Elven Forest? Unfortunately, Red Gorgos did not give the elves any time to plan anything. With another great roar, the dragon slowly breathed in, and after a short pause, sent out a blast of liquid flame.

The level of the flames was too strong – even for the elves – to be handled without planning. The first six elves close to the dragon could not even scream as they vaporized. It was about to reach Lire, when her father quickly ran over in front of her and took action.

"Aqua Shield!"

The eldest elf shouted, a blue rune appearing in front of his left hand, blocking the flames.

"Vizale!"

At the call, Vizale instantly came forth and was about to kneel in front of the elder, when –

"Just take my daughter and get her out of danger!"

"But, Honor-"

The elder cut him off, his voice cracking with the strain of talking and holding a magic spell at the same time.

"This is my last order! Heed it!"

Reluctantly, the warrior tried to take Lire by her hand, but she pushed him off.

"Father, No! I -"

The old warrior collapsed, with the flames still burning his rune shield, and groaned out his last words.

"Vizale, please….."

The young male elf's face hardened. Picking up Lire by force, Vizale ran towards the exit of the forest.

"No! Let me go!"

Lire cried out as she hit Vizale's back with her fists – however, with no avail.

"Let me down!"

The elf girl was sobbing as she was yelling now, and she continued to punch the male elf's back as strong as she could.

"I'm sorry, princess."

With that, he sent a light chop on Lire's neck, causing her to faint.

However, the cruelty of the world did not stop for Vizale.

The monsters surrounded them– the smell of blood seeming to have attracted them. Vizale took out his knife, and sneered at the savages.

"You want it? Come get it."

He slashed and slashed and slashed – using only his left hand. Even while he was killing the monsters, he managed to advance towards the end of the forest. After a few hours of the fight, the monsters coming at him slowly ended their attack, realizing that they had no chance against the elf.

After he made sure that no monsters could be found, he laid the princess down gently under a tree, and decided to take a rest – when a gorgon bit his stomach. The miniature dragon bit into the side of Vizale's stomach, wounding it worse. Vizale took his knife back out, and cut the animal's throat. Even then, the vile monster did not let go, but bit harder. Vizale had to slash several more times to make it get off him.

Vizale collapsed near the tree where Lire slept, his final gaze on the elfin princess. He smiled, even while knowing that the princess would never return his smile, and managed to mutter his final words.

"I have finished my duty, Elder….."

* * *

Lire woke up with a start.

"Wha..? Where…?"

The last day was a daze for her, as she was put into sleep without even being asked her opinion. Her yellow, confused eyes looked around slowly to check her surroundings. Then she suddenly remembered the Red Gorgos, and instinctively reached her back for her bow and arrows. She looked around in panic when she realized that they were not there. Her head went up, left, right, then down….. Her eyes then stopped dead on a motionless figure.

"…..Vizale?"

Then it all came back to her. Her father's death, the warrior running, carrying her…..

However, the warrior was now lying with his back on the ground, his eyes staring aimlessly at the night sky.

Lire knew what was wrong with the male warrior, but she did not want to acknowledge it, did not want to accept the truth…..

"…..Vizale? It's time to wake up. You shouldn't sleep so much….."

The elfin girl looked at the warrior's wounded stomach, and then at his face.

"…..Vizale?"

_No…..He can't be…..He can't be….._ The blonde elf girl thought, denying the truth that lay in front of her.

"…..Wake up….."

She crawled towards him, and saw that his eyes were still opened. Softly, she used her hands to close them.

As she felt tears streaming down her cheeks, she wished for the first time in her life that it was raining.


	5. Chapter 4, Part 1

Ch.4. – Arme/the final chapter

The Violet Mages were the most powerful group of magic users on the kingdom of Serdin 620 years ago. All of the mages of the guild were born with natural talent for magic. Their power was so great that none, be it men or monsters, dared to go against them. However, they were still human. With such power in their hands, the Violet Mages gradually became enslaved to the darkness, and abused their power. Eventually, the queen of Serdin at that time was forced to take action. She gave orders to Zeke Sieghart Carmesi, the founder of the Red Knights and the Royal Guard Master of Serdin, to make peace with the guild of mages, or destroy them.

However, Zeke had a strong bond of friendship with Heinas Violet, a direct descendent of the founder of the Violet Mages. Heinas was, as Sieghart saw it, the only one whose heart was not corrupt by the darkness. Together, they managed to set up a force field that nullified the magic of the guild members, and the corrupted mages were punished as saw fit by the queen.

A few years later, Heinas Violet founded the Violet Academy for Magical Arts, a school where children with magical talents came and learned the ways of magic.

620 years have passed since Sieghart went missing on a ruins expedition, and the Violet bloodline was lost. However, the Violet Academy for Magical Arts remained – as an elite school for geniuses.

However, there was one – someone who could not be called a genius, but who still managed to enroll in the school, Arme Florence.

The 15-year-old girl could be called anything but a genius. She always made mistakes in classes, and could not succeed in completing a single spell. And yet, she was accepted…..Why?

No one knew.

Rumors had it that she was special, had some hidden potential, and that only the headmaster knew the reason…..But rumors were rumors.

Naturally, the girl was a target of bullying.

"Hey! Purple-head! Get me a bottle of grape-juice!"

One of the seniors, Russell, shouted at her.

I'm not your servant! Arme thought furiously, You should get it yourself!

But of course, Arme did not say this out loud.

"Uh……I'll need some money to buy the drink….."

"What? You want MY money?"

The senior shook his fist at Arme several times before actually coming up to her and slapping her across the face. His friends behind him laughed. They would not have laughed if they could feel Arme's pain at that moment.

She could feel tears trying to escape through her violet eyes. She did not understand why this was happening to her. She did not deserve this kind of treatment – but she was getting it anyways.

"I have no money to give to a failure!"

That did it. Arme started sobbing loudly, and started running towards the exit of the hallway.

"You owe me a drink, Purple-head!"

The senior shouted after her loudly. Loud laughter could be heard after that comment, which made Arme sob even harder.

The violet-haired girl ran out of the school, and into the forest that surrounded the school. Leaning on a tree nearby, she started to cry her heart out. As she cried, she remembered her past in the orphanage. Only two years ago, she was just a girl, just another mistake born into the world by accident. For her, the headmaster who took her into a luxurious academy was like a saviour. Or so she had thought.

The life at the orphanage was better than this….. I could be myself! She cried inside, feeling her heart getting torn up.

Why…..Why……?

She felt that her life was miserable because no one was there for her, Arme had no one to depend on when trouble came, seeking her. No one was standing by her side when she was feeling depressed until that moment when someone had stepped beside Arme, tapping on her shoulders and muttering "There…..There….."

Almost as soon as she had that thought, she felt a feeling of warmth on her back.

Startled, she turned around to see a black-haired boy looking at her, obviously concerned.

"Are…..Are you okay?"

Arme studied the boy for a few seconds, and then replied after turning her back on him, with a hint of bitterness.

"Yea…"

"You don't look that okay."

The boy replied with such speed that Arme turned back again and studied him a bit further.

His face blushing, the boy introduced himself hastily.

"I…..My name is Tika."

Arme was caught off guard. She did not know that there was anyone who did not know about her. Thinking that it was only right to introduce herself in return, she took it to action.

"My name is Arme."

The boy named Tika did not seem surprised. Instead, he nodded at her.

"Well, Arme….. Shall I buy you a drink?"

Arme was about to refuse when she noticed her throat was dry from all the crying, and politely accepted.

And the two walked into the school café together.

* * *

After a year had passed, the two became almost inseparable. Where Arme was, Tika was. Much to Arme's surprise, Tika was a popular guy in the school, not to mention that he was at the top of his classes. Thanks to his carefree personality, almost all the students in the school were his friends.

Thanks to that, the bullying of Arme stopped – almost.

No one openly bullied Arme anymore, but small things like calling her names continued.

It wasn't long before Arme realized that she held feelings for Tika. She wanted to be more than just friends with him.

But how can I tell him that? She thought, He saved me and I tell him that? I'd rather stay friends than do something so shameless!

Little did she know, that Tika felt the same way towards her.

On the night of the 's dance, Tika invited Arme to be his partner.

Arme was never invited to a dance before, so she wasn't sure of what to do. However, she accepted the invitation willingly due to the fact that she was in love with the guy. Much to her panic, she had no dress, so she had to ask one of her new friends where to buy one. During the dance, there was an awkward silence that fell between them, and so neither of them talked much.

"You look….. Stunning."

That was the first sentence that Tika had said to Arme,

"You look…..Amazing."

And that was the first sentence that Arme had said to Tika.

After the dance, Tika took Arme to a high-quality restaurant especially made for the nobles.

"Wow….."

Arme stared at the grand entrance of the restaurant, and wondered if she really deserved this from Tika.

"Can I really go in?"

" Of course."

Tika smiled at Arme, making her blush. Then he muttered a few words quietly behind her back.

"Anything for you….."

* * *

"…..And can I have this, that, and this……."

Tika was ordering every kind of food he knew for Arme. However, he had no clue that this was making Arme really uncomfortable.

Arme decided to confess his feelings for Tika that night. She would find a right moment, and tell him. The problem was that she couldn't find a right moment for it.

Tika had the same problem. His nervousness made him eat fast, and was ordering food almost as fast as he ate. He couldn't find a right moment for his confession either. So he decided to take the initiative.

His face suddenly grew serious, and he started talking to Arme.

"Listen, Arme….. I've been wanting for tell you this for a long time."

The purple-haired girl couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"I always thought you were amazing and….."

She secretly pinched herself to see if it was a dream – it wasn't.

"and… I lo - "

Boom

The whole restaurant shook violently at that moment. The waiters that were serving food suddenly dropped their dishes, and the customers began screaming.

However, the tragedy that was about to happen did not slow down for the panicking customers. At that moment, an evil aura hit arme, and her mind felt as if it was surrounded by a fog.

Boom

Another small quake.

Then the floor of the restaurant slowly started to move, the lavish tiles cracking upward, and several large holes appeared through the cracks.

The first one to sense danger was Tika.

"Arme, Let's get out of he-"

His sentence was interrupted by a loud roar. An Orc emerged from one of the holes, his head first coming out. It grabbed the nearest customer, who was screaming, and threw him into its mouth.

The black-haired boy grabbed Arme's hand, and started running for the exit, but was stopped when another Orc emerged from the underground. One…..Two…..Three….. The Orcs just kept on coming out through the holes, like flies gathering onto meat.

Tika and Arme were no exceptions.

An Orc reached for Arme, who was still in a daze, and tried to grab her.

"Fire ball!"

Tika enchanted the spell, directed at the hand of the monster. Blinded with pain, the Orc threw its club at Arme. Tika did not have time to mutter an incantation. He acted on pure instinct.

He pushed Arme out of the way, and was hit by the flying club instead.

Tika then fell, as Arme was suddenly brought back to reality.

She looked at Tika and then at the Orc that was grunting in satisfaction. She looked at Tika again, and walked over to him. Her arms lifted up his head, and looked at him face to face.

Tika looked at Arme, and grinned faintly. He then muttered his last words:

"Be safe….."

And then, he fell into his everlasting slumber.

Arme dropped Tika's head gently back down as she stood up, uncomprehending. She did not understand. She did not know why Tika had to die. She did not know why an Orc was standing behind her, raising its fists – she did not want to know.

Then she understood.

Her violet eyes started piercing tears. However, she did not cry out loud. Her movements were in control when she silently looked at the Orc in the eyes.

The creature flinched.

However, it recovered after a second, realizing that it was just a little girl who could not hurt it at all. Snarling, it raised its club, and brought it down at the purple-haired girl, at full force.

The girl was muttering magic.

"Holy Blast!"

She shouted as white rays of light surrounded her, and the Orc that was the closest to her was repelled back a few meters. The rays of light kept shimmering around Arme, when suddenly the Orcs that were eating the customers felt a force of powerful holy energy upon them. The Orcs were then purified, their evil flesh dissolving into the holy light. All that was left of the monsters were their oversized skeletons.

Arme then went back to Tika, and put his head on her lap.

* * *

There were a total of six survivors after the incident, not counting Arme. All of the survivors witnessed a bright light casting over the restaurant, and the monsters dying instantly.

Arme was now standing on the top of Cruzan Hill, her favorite place as well as Tika's.

"You have done well."

Arme turned around at the voice, and was not at all surprised to see the Headmaster standing close to a tree.

"I have failed Tika, sir." She responded bitterly, and turned back around.

The old mage sighed.

"Your friend's death was not your fault. Your mind was clogged by darkness, I presume?"

The purple-haired girl did not respond.

"All the powerful mages in the country experienced it that day."

Arme still did not say a word.

"If he had not died, everyone in the restaurant would have died on that day."

Arme blurted out, almost angrily.

"If only I had not been clogged –"

"Your power came from emotion, Arme. Without his death, you couldn't have used such power. His death opened the pathway for your magic to get through."

Cutting her off, the Headmaster continued.

"It was his death that saved you and the six other people. You must thank him – his death will be greatly grieved."

Arme felt tears filling up her purple eyes. A sob escaped her, and she could not hide it anymore. She cried and cried. It was just like when she had met Tika. She was crying that day, too, when Tika came to console her and stood for her. She did not hide it now – she did not see any point in doing so. She sat down and cried out loudly.

The Headmaster still did not leave. There was something he wanted to tell the crying girl, so he waited silently.

After what seemed like a few hours, Arme stopped crying. Yet still, small sobs escaped her frequently.

"Child, I think it is the time I told you your full name."

Arme did not want to know her full name. She just wanted Tika to be with her –

"Your full name is Arme Florence Violet."

Arme stopped crying.

"You are a direct descendent of Heinas Violet, the founder of this school."

"I do not know how you were born, but that mark on the small of your back – yes, I looked at it – is only unique to the bloodline of the Violet."

The Headmaster continued to speak.

"I sensed your vast magical energy, and decided to take you in. However, you seemed to be unable to use any kind of magic at that time. I trusted that one day, you will realize your true potential, and I was right."

Arme was shocked. Her? The descendent of the Violet?

The Headmaster sighed again, and continued.

"And now, I am making an offer to you. An offer that I think you would be very interested in."

"The queen of Serdin is making a team – a team of special warriors to defeat the Dark Lady."

Arme did not want to join in. She had no reason to.

"Why should I?"

The Headmaster eyed Arme for a second, and told her the reason.

"Because the Dark Lady was the one behind the Orc attack at the restaurant."

The violet-haired girl finally found another reason for living: revenge.

Noticing this, the Headmaster shook his head.

"This is why I did not want to tell you this Arme. Revenge is a terrible thing. It will only bite you ba-"

"How do I join?"

The old mage looked at Arme sadly, and said:

"You have already accepted the invitation. Go to the Serdin castle tomorrow."

With that, he turned away and left.

Arme sat down on a nearby rock. She thought about Tika, his kind face, and his caring words. She thought again of how his words would always soothed her, how they always calmed her down, and how they were always there for her. She felt tears on her eyes again, and let them flow down. She would remember Tika. Always and forever.

She looked up at the sky, and saw that one of the cloud looked like a smiling boy. 


	6. Chapter 1, Part 2

**The Chase Begins: Part 2 – The Last Resort**

Ch.1. – The Warriors Are Gathered

"Hah. Late."

Elesis muttered as she looked at the grandfather clock in the Serdin Castle Hall.

"What is taking them so long?"

She leaned back against the white-coloured wall behind her, measuring her sword with her eyes.

"Cheh, 'Be there ten minutes before the promised time' was what father had always said."

Bored, she sat down on a nearby chair, and started clicking her tongues, as she did whenever she had nothing else to do. Elesis started playing with her sword, trying to make use of her extra time.

"Hullo! I'm here!"

Elesis was trying to balance her sword on her fingertips, when the light-hearted voice came out of nowhere. The voice startled Elesis, the balance of the sword breaking and the sword crashed down on her forehead.

"Ow ow ow….."

"Are you okay?"

Rubbing her forehead, she turned toward the voice. There, she could see a blonde girl of her own age– an elfin blonde girl, actually. Still in pain, Elesis replied to the good-willed question, almost rudely.

"Do I look okay?"

The elf girl grinned a little, and replied back.

"You sure do. Am I wrong?"

Elesis bent down from her chair to pick up her sword, her good humor returning.

"Well, what do you know? Looks like I'm cured."

She said, grinning at the elf.

The elf smiled back, and offered her hand.

"My name is Lire Eruyell and I am here to take the position as the archer in your group. Even though we elves are normally peaceful, I am one of those who think that measures should be taken towards the doings of Kaze'aze. I look forward to working with you in the future."

An elf, huh? Elesis thought. Nice.

Then, Elesis started introducing herself in return, as it was the only normal thing to do.

"Well, I am-"

"I already know. You are the current captain of the Red Knights, no? I heard that you possess tremendous skills with your sword. Please take good care of me."

Even though cutting somebody off when the person is talking is usually taken as a rude act, the elfin girl did it so gracefully and politely that Elesis felt the need to bow down and thank her. Resisting the urge to do so, Elesis was just about to thank Lire for her compliments when a purple-haired girl stepped in.

The new girl did not make any kind of greetings at first. She just slowly eyed Elesis and Lire while standing beside the hallway door, her face expressionless.

Then, she sat down on a chair nearby, and the room fell into an awkward silence.

Thinking that she should do something to make the awkwardness go away, Elesis tried talking to the new girl.

"Uh…..Hello."

The purple-haired girl responded with a greeting of her own, but no further.

"Hello."

At that point, Elesis was running out of her patience, and she didn't have much of it anyways. Therefore, she decided that she would take the initiative and ask the girl what her purpose was at Serdin castle.

"Um….. Could you state your purpose for being in the Serdin castle?"

The purple girl glared at Elesis, and said in return:

"Why would you want to know?"

Elesis suddenly got angry.

"Are you here to join the new 'group' or what?"

"I said, you don't need to know."

The purple girl responded without even blinking. That got Elesis even more angry.

"I need to know because I am joining too, purple-head, and if you don't wann-"

Elesis was knocked to the ground headfirst by an invisible gust of wind.

"Do. Not. Call. Me. By. That. Name."

The violet-haired girl said the seven words separately, emphasizing them. Elesis got up, her red eyes flashing with rage, she grabbed her sword.

"You bast-"

At that point, Lire, the smart girl of the group, decided to intervene.

"Um, let's stop fighting, please?"

Smiling nervously, Lire repeated Elesis' question, but with more politeness in it.

"I am Lire, and I will be taking the archer position in this new 'group', and Miss Elesis will be taking the melee combat position. We need to know who you are, since we are one person short, and I am quiet sure that you are….."

Her voice trailed off, but one could clearly see what she meant.

The purple-haired girl eyed Lire's pointed ears curiously, and introduced herself.

"My name is Arme Florence…..Violet."

At the mention of the name 'Violet' Elesis wrinkled her nose in disbelief. The violet girl did not notice, and continued.

"I will be the mage in the group. I will be in charge of support…..But I prefer smashing monsters in my own ways."

At the word 'smashing', Arme looked towards Elesis meaningfully.

Elesis still didn't like the new girl. In fact, she could feel hate getting close.

"Violet? Is that really your last name?"

"What of it?"

Elesis scoffed.

" That name was lost hundreds of years ago. How can you be a Violet?"

Arme replied with utmost certainty.

"Because I have the mark of the Violets."

"It is on my back. I would show the elf over there, but not you."

Elesis didn't like this girl, at all.

"Fine, whatever you say."

Grumbling, she turned away from Arme, but did not stop talking.

"We have to go to the main hall now, since we're all here. Don't tell me you're gonna knock me away this time too?"

Arme ignored that, and started walking towards the other side of the hallway.

Elesis blinked.

"Hey, uh, Arme."

"What?"

"You're going the wrong way."

Startled, Arme looked around and saw the huge sign that said 'Main Hall, THIS WAY."

Her face red, she quickly fixed her direction, and started walking towards the direction Elesis pointed at.

Lire was looking troubled, but Elesis' face distorted into something that looked like a huge grin.

Maybe it won't be so bad after all. The red girl thought as she saw the yet-again confused Arme trying to decide which one of the doors led to the Great Hall.

"Well, we're here."

Elesis said as the team stopped in front of a door that had a Gryphon drawn in the middle of it. Arme's face was perfectly red. Twice she wondered into rooms made for monsters, and she even managed to fall into a hole, who knew where it came from.

"Why is it so far away?"

Arme asked Elesis, trying to hide her red face.

"It would've taken only five minutes, but….."

Arme's face got so red that it looked blue.

Lire tried to comfort Arme.

"Well, it's not Arme's fault that she is a klutz – "

Arme looked as if she was about to faint from embarrassment, and Lire quickly covered her mouth.

"Yeah, and it's not her fault that it took thirty minutes to get here, right?" Elesis said, smirking.

"…..Shut up….." Arme muttered under her breath.

Elesis pretended she didn't hear that, and opened the door.

The main hall of the castle was, basically, a large room, decorated with only the finest jewelries. However, the current queen had a special use for the jewelries. Whenever the country was financially in need, she used some of the precious decorations to provide for whatever was needed.

And now, the queen of Serdin stood before the three girls.

Elesis kneeled automatically. Since Elesis was the captain of the Red Knights, she lived in the castle. Therefore, she was familiar with the castle's customs.

"Your highness." Elesis said, with politeness that couldn't have been hers.

Arme and Lire were still standing, confused by the sudden turnout of events.

"Kneel!" Elesis hissed, cursing the stupidity of the two girls.

Only then did the other two girls finally realize that they were in the presence of Her Highness, the queen of Serdin.

"Yo, you, your h-highness."

Stammering, Arme kneeled down awkwardly, her face bright red yet again.

Lire did her part a bit better.

"My queen."

The only flaw was that she kneeled with her left leg in front, which was not a proper form of kneeling down in Serdin. Realizing her mistake, she quickly switched the order of her legs, and Elesis sighed.

"It is fine." The queen said, smiling. "I noticed that a lot of people do that the first time they see me." Elesis sighed again in relief.

The queen continued. "The reason I have called you three here today is to, as you may have heard, form a group to defeat the darkness spread by the Dark Lady, Kaze'aze."

The three girls tensed.

"Therefore, I have called you three, who were the best at your own areas."

At the word best, the queen nodded to each one of the girls.

The queen still continued.

"Today, I have called the knight master-"

A female knight dressed in red and yellow emerged out of nowhere, and everybody except Elesis, even the queen, was startled.

"-I wish you'd stop doing that, Kris-" The knight master chuckled. "-Anyways, I have called the knight master here to test you three girls if you're worthy."

Arme was furious.

"What? Have I not proven my worth enough? I don't know about the muscle-head there –" She pointed at Elesis, who clenched her teeth as well as clenching her fists. "But I certainly have proven my worth!"

"You have not proven your worth until I say so."

The knight master said calmly, frowning. She stepped forward.

"But-"

"I said, you have not proven your worth until I say so."

Arme then noticed the flames in the knight master's eyes, and realized that she was being extremely rude. She sat back down quickly, and apologized just as fast.

"I'm sorry."

"It is fine, child. As long as you do not make the same mistake again." The knight master replied, the malice in her voice gone. She stepped back a few pace until she was beside the queen again.

"Please continue, your highness."

The queen coughed several times, obviously displeased by the turn of the events.

"As I was saying, I called Kris here to test your worth, to see if you are strong enough to chase away the queen of darkness."

"The team will be called Grand Chase – oh, only if you three pass the test, that is." She quickly added, noticing the knight master looking meaningfully at her.

"Well, if you please, Kris." She said, motioning her hand to the knight master.

"Your Majesty."

The knight master bowed, and walked over to the three girls.

"You may rise."

Elesis was the first one to react, and Lire followed. Arme had to stretch before getting up, since her legs were too stiff.

"Follow me." The knight master said to the three girls. Behind them, the queen could be seen mouthing the words 'good luck!' and waving her hands.

The knight master sighed, as if she knew what the queen was doing even without looking.

Behind the knight master, Elesis chuckled silently.


End file.
